It’s no secret that Kaua‘i has its fair share of coconut trees. A part of the Eastside is nicknamed “The Coconut Coast,” after all. And this weekend’s 10th Annual Coconut Festival is a celebration of the island treat. Guests can
It’s no secret that Kaua‘i has its fair share of coconut trees. A part of the Eastside is nicknamed “The Coconut Coast,” after all.
And this weekend’s 10th Annual Coconut Festival is a celebration of the island treat. Guests can either watch people weaving baskets out of fronds or do it themselves, either with the kids or alone, with the help of the “How to Weave Hawaiian Coconut Palm Fronds: A Step-by-Step Guide,” by Jim Widess.
The book, like the title states, is a step-by-step guidebook to weaving a decorative bowl for the coffee table or a fruit display, a three-tiered hanging basket or a frond waste paper basket for the room.
Author Widess and his wife, Sher, own The Caning Shop in Berkeley, Calif., which specializes in restoring can and wicker furniture. They also deal quit a bit in basketry and gourd supplies.
In his introduction, Widess writes, “I’ve woven a few baskets in my life, so I began looking through my collection of books and found a few titles whose subject was weaving baskets from coconut palm fronds. I thought it might be fun to teach myself to weave coconut fronds as something to do while on this chain of desert islands.”
While on vacation to the Garden Isle, Widess and his wife stayed at the Kaua‘i Sands Hotel, where a gardener helped him collect fronds for his projects. He turned to everyone he could, asking gardeners at various hotels and resorts for help in perfecting a weaving technique.
Widess then put everything he learned in this book, which features 11 frond projects. Beginners will find the photographic instructions easy to follow in creating functional and ornamental weaving projects. The book also includes a brief history of palm frond weaving, instructions for collecting palm fronds and how to prepare them for weaving.
Widess is also the author of “How to Make Hawaiian Musical Instruments” and the co-author of “How to Make Hawaiian Ribbon Leis.”
“How to Weave Hawaiian Coconut Palm Fronds: A Step-by-Step Guide” hits the shelves Oct. 9.
